FIRST DIVISION

JOSEFINA S. LUBRICA, in her G.R. No. 170220

capacity as Assignee of FEDERICO
C. SUNTAY, NENITA SUNTAY
TAEDO and EMILIO A.M.
SUNTAY III,
Petitioners, Present:

Panganiban, C.J. (Chairperson),
- versus - Ynares-Santiago,
Austria-Martinez,
Callejo, Sr., and
Chico-Nazario, JJ.
LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES,
Respondent. Promulgated:

November 20, 2006
x ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- x

DECI SI ON

YNARES-SANTIAGO, J .:


This Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court
assails the October 27, 2005 Amended Decision
[1]
of the Court of Appeals in CA-
G.R. SP No. 77530, which vacated its May 26, 2004 Decision affirming (a) the
Order of the Regional Trial Court of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, Branch 46,
acting as Special Agrarian Court, in Agrarian Case Nos. R-1339 and R-1340, dated
March 31, 2003 directing respondent Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to
deposit the provisional compensation as determined by the Provincial Agrarian
Reform Adjudicator (PARAD); (b) the May 26, 2003 Resolution denying LBPs
motion for reconsideration; and (c) the May 27, 2003 Order requiring Teresita V.
Tengco, LBPs Land Compensation Department Manager, to comply with the
March 31, 2003 Order.
The
facts of the case are as follows:

Petitioner Josefina S. Lubrica is the assignee
[2]
of Federico C. Suntay over
certain parcels of agricultural land located at Sta. Lucia, Sablayan, Occidental
Mindoro, with an area of 3,682.0285 hectares covered by Transfer Certificate of
Title (TCT) No. T-31 (T-1326)
[3]
of the Registry of Deeds of
Occidental Mindoro. In 1972, a portion of the said property with an area of
311.7682 hectares, was placed under the land reform program pursuant to
Presidential Decree No. 27 (1972)
[4]
and Executive Order No. 228 (1987).
[5]
The
land was thereafter subdivided and distributed to farmer beneficiaries. The
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the LBP fixed the value of the land at
P5,056,833.54 which amount was deposited in cash and bonds in favor of Lubrica.

On the other hand, petitioners Nenita Suntay-Taedo and Emilio A.M.
Suntay III inherited from Federico Suntay a parcel of agricultural land located at
Balansay, Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro covered by TCT No. T-128
[6]
of the
Register of Deeds of Occidental Mindoro, consisting of two lots, namely, Lot 1
with an area of 45.0760 hectares and Lot 2 containing an area of 165.1571 hectares
or a total of 210.2331 hectares. Lot 2 was placed under the coverage of P.D. No.
27 but only 128.7161 hectares was considered by LBP and valued the same at
P1,512,575.05.

Petitioners rejected the valuation of their properties, hence the Office of the
Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD) conducted summary
administrative proceedings for determination of just compensation. On January
29, 2003, the PARAD fixed the preliminary just compensation at P51,800,286.43
for the 311.7682 hectares (TCT No. T-31) and P21,608,215.28 for the 128.7161
hectares (TCT No. T-128).
[7]


Not satisfied with the valuation, LBP filed on February 17, 2003, two
separate petitions
[8]
for judicial determination of just compensation before the
Regional Trial Court of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, acting as a Special
Agrarian Court, docketed as Agrarian Case No. R-1339 for TCT No. T-31 and
Agrarian Case No. R-1340 for TCT No. T-128, and raffled to Branch 46 thereof.

Petitioners filed separate Motions to Deposit the Preliminary Valuation
Under Section 16(e) of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6657 (1988)
[9]
and Ad Cautelam
Answer praying among others that LBP deposit the preliminary compensation
determined by the PARAD.

On March 31, 2003, the trial court issued an Order
[10]
granting petitioners
motion, the dispositive portion of which reads:

WHEREFORE, Ms. Teresita V. Tengco, of the Land
Compensation Department I (LCD I), Land Bank of the Philippines, is
hereby ordered pursuant to Section 16 (e) of RA 6657 in relation to
Section 2, Administrative Order No. 8, Series of 1991, to deposit the
provisional compensation as determined by the PARAD in cash and
bonds, as follows:

1. In Agrarian Case No. R-1339, the amount of P 51,800,286.43,
minus the amount received by the Landowner;
2. In Agrarian Case No. R-1340, the amount of P 21,608,215.28,
less the amount of P 1,512,575.16, the amount already deposited.

Such deposit must be made with the Land Bank of
the Philippines, Manila within five (5) days from receipt of a copy of this
order and to notify this court of her compliance within such period.

Let this order be served by the Sheriff of this Court at the expense
of the movants.

SO ORDERED.
[11]


LBPs motion for reconsideration was denied in a Resolution
[12]
dated May
26, 2003. The following day, May 27, 2003, the trial court issued an
Order
[13]
directing Ms. Teresita V. Tengco, LBPs Land Compensation Department
Manager, to deposit the amounts.

Thus, on June 17, 2003, LBP filed with the Court of Appeals a Petition for
Certiorari and Prohibition under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court with application for
the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order and Writ of Preliminary Injunction
docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 77530.
[14]


On June 27, 2003, the appellate court issued a 60-day temporary restraining
order
[15]
and on October 6, 2003, a writ of preliminary injunction.
[16]


On May 26, 2004, the Court of Appeals rendered a Decision
[17]
in favor of
the petitioners, the dispositive portion of which reads:

WHEREFORE, premises considered, there being no grave abuse
of discretion, the instant Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition is
DENIED. Accordingly, the Order dated March 31, 2003, Resolution
dated May 26, 2003, and Order dated May 27, 2003 are hereby
AFFIRMED. The preliminary injunction We previously issued is hereby
LIFTED and DISSOLVED.

SO ORDERED.
[18]


The Court of Appeals held that the trial court correctly ordered LBP to
deposit the amounts provisionally determined by the PARAD as there is no law
which prohibits LBP to make a deposit pending the fixing of the final amount of
just compensation. It also noted that there is no reason for LBP to further delay the
deposit considering that the DAR already took possession of the properties and
distributed the same to farmer-beneficiaries as early as 1972.

LBP moved for reconsideration which was granted. On October 27, 2005,
the appellate court rendered the assailed Amended Decision,
[19]
the dispositive
portion of which reads:

Wherefore, in view of the prescription of a different formula in
the case of Gabatin which We hold as cogent and compelling
justification necessitating Us to effect the reversal of Our judgment
herein sought to be reconsidered, the instant Motion for Reconsideration
is GRANTED, and Our May 26, 2004 Decision is hereby VACATED
and ABANDONED with the end in view of giving way to and acting in
harmony and in congruence with the tenor of the ruling in the case of
Gabatin. Accordingly, the assailed rulings of the Special Agrarian Court
is (sic) commanded to compute and fix the just compensation for the
expropriated agricultural lands strictly in accordance with the mode of
computation prescribed (sic) Our May 26, 2004 judgment in the case of
Gabatin.

SO ORDERED.
[20]


In the Amended Decision, the Court of Appeals held that the immediate
deposit of the preliminary value of the expropriated properties is improper because
it was erroneously computed. Citing Gabatin v. Land Bank of the Philippines,
[21]
it
held that the formula to compute the just compensation should be: Land Value =
2.5 x Average Gross Production x Government Support Price. Specifically, it held
that the value of the government support price for the corresponding agricultural
produce (rice and corn) should be computed at the time of the legal taking of the
subject agricultural land, that is, on October 21, 1972 when landowners were
effectively deprived of ownership over their properties by virtue of P.D. No.
27. According to the Court of Appeals, the PARAD incorrectly used the amounts
of P500 and P300 which are the prevailing government support price for palay and
corn, respectively, at the time of payment, instead of P35 and P31, the prevailing
government support price at the time of the taking in
1972.

Hence, this petition raising the following issues:

A. THE COURT A QUO HAS DECIDED THE CASE IN A
WAY NOT IN ACCORD WITH THE LATEST DECISION OF THE
SUPREME COURT IN THE CASE OF LAND BANK OF
THE PHILIPPINES VS. HON. ELI G.C. NATIVIDAD, ET AL., G.R.
NO. 127198, PROM. MAY 16, 2005; and
[22]


B. THE COURT A QUO HAS, WITH GRAVE GRAVE ABUSE
OF DISCRETION, SO FAR DEPARTED FROM THE ACCEPTED
AND USUAL COURSE OF JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS, DECIDING
ISSUES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN RAISED, AS TO CALL FOR AN
EXERCISE OF THE POWER OF SUPERVISION.
[23]


Petitioners insist that the determination of just compensation should be based
on the value of the expropriated properties at the time of payment. Respondent
LBP, on the other hand, claims that the value of the realties should be computed as
of October 21, 1972 when P.D. No. 27 took effect.
The petition is impressed with merit.

In the case of Land Bank of the Philippines v. Natividad,
[24]
the Court ruled
thus:

Land Banks contention that the property was acquired for
purposes of agrarian reform on October 21, 1972, the time of the
effectivity of PD 27, ergo just compensation should be based on the
value of the property as of that time and not at the time of possession in
1993, is likewise erroneous. In Office of the President,
Malacaang, Manila v. Court of Appeals, we ruled that the seizure of the
landholding did not take place on the date of effectivity of PD 27 but
would take effect on the payment of just
compensation.

The Natividad case reiterated the Courts ruling in Office of the President v.
Court of Appeals
[25]
that the expropriation of the landholding did not take place on
the effectivity of P.D. No. 27 on October 21, 1972 but seizure would take effect on
the payment of just compensation judicially determined.

Likewise, in the recent case of Heirs of Francisco R. Tantoco, Sr. v. Court of
Appeals,
[26]
we held that expropriation of landholdings covered by R.A. No. 6657
take place, not on the effectivity of the Act on June 15, 1988, but on the payment
of just compensation.

In the instant case, petitioners were deprived of their properties in 1972 but
have yet to receive the just compensation therefor. The parcels of land were
already subdivided and distributed to the farmer-beneficiaries thereby immediately
depriving petitioners of their use. Under the circumstances, it would be highly
inequitable on the part of the petitioners to compute the just compensation using
the values at the time of the taking in 1972, and not at the time of the payment,
considering that the government and the farmer-beneficiaries have already
benefited from the land although ownership thereof have not yet been transferred
in their names. Petitioners were deprived of their properties without payment of
just compensation which, under the law, is a prerequisite before the property can
be taken away from its owners.
[27]
The transfer of possession and ownership of the
land to the government are conditioned upon the receipt by the landowner of the
corresponding payment or deposit by the DAR of the compensation with an
accessible bank. Until then, title remains with the landowner.
[28]


Our ruling in Association of Small Landowners in the Philippines, Inc. v.
Secretary of Agrarian Reform
[29]
is instructive, thus:

It is true that P.D. No. 27 expressly ordered the emancipation of
tenant-farmer as October 21, 1972 and declared that he shall be deemed
the owner of a portion of land consisting of a family-sized farm except
that no title to the land owned by him was to be actually issued to him
unless and until he had become a full-fledged member of a duly
recognized farmers cooperative. It was understood, however, that full
payment of the just compensation also had to be made first, conformably
to the constitutional requirement.

When E.O. No. 228, categorically stated in its Section 1 that:

All qualified farmer-beneficiaries are now deemed
full owners as of October 21, 1972 of the land
they acquired by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 27
(Emphasis supplied.)

it was obviously referring to lands already validly acquired under the
said decree, after proof of full-fledged membership in the farmers
cooperatives and full payment of just compensation. x x x

The CARP Law, for its part, conditions the transfer of possession
and ownership of the land to the government on receipt by the landowner
of the corresponding payment or the deposit by the DAR of the
compensation in cash or LBP bonds with an accessible bank. Until then,
title also remains with the landowner. No outright change of ownership
is contemplated either.

We also note that the expropriation proceedings in the instant case was
initiated under P.D. No. 27 but the agrarian reform process is still incomplete
considering that the just compensation to be paid to petitioners has yet to be
settled. Considering the passage of R.A. No. 6657 before the completion of this
process, the just compensation should be determined and the process concluded
under the said law. Indeed, R.A. No. 6657 is the applicable law, with P.D. No. 27
and E.O. No. 228 having only suppletory effect.
[30]


In Land Bank of the Philippines v. Court of Appeals,
[31]
we held that:

RA 6657 includes PD 27 lands among the properties which the
DAR shall acquire and distribute to the landless. And to facilitate the
acquisition and distribution thereof, Secs. 16, 17 and 18 of the Act
should be adhered to.

Section 18 of R.A. No. 6657 mandates that the LBP shall compensate the
landowner in such amount as may be agreed upon by the landowner and the DAR
and the LBP or as may be finally determined by the court as the just compensation
for the land. In determining just compensation, the cost of the acquisition of the
land, the current value of like properties, its nature, actual use and income, the
sworn valuation by the owner, the tax declarations, and the assessment made by
government assessors shall be considered. The social and economic benefits
contributed by the farmers and the farmworkers and by the government to the
property as well as the nonpayment of taxes or loans secured from any government
financing institution on the said land shall be considered as additional factors to
determine its valuation.
[32]


Corollarily, we held in Land Bank of the Philippines v. Celada
[33]
that the
above provision was converted into a formula by the DAR through Administrative
Order No. 05, S. 1998, to wit:

Land Value (LV) = (Capitalized Net Income x 0.6) + (Comparable Sales x
0.3) + (Market Value per Tax Declaration x 0.1)

Petitioners were deprived of their properties way back in 1972, yet to date,
they have not yet received just compensation. Thus, it would certainly be
inequitable to determine just compensation based on the guideline provided by
P.D. No. 227 and E.O. No. 228 considering the failure to determine just
compensation for a considerable length of time. That just compensation should be
determined in accordance with R.A. No. 6657 and not P.D. No. 227 or E.O. No.
228, is important considering that just compensation should be the full and fair
equivalent of the property taken from its owner by the expropriator, the equivalent
being real, substantial, full and ample.
[34]


WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is GRANTED. The
assailed Amended Decision dated October 27, 2005 of the Court of Appeals in
CA-G.R. SP No. 77530 is REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The Decision dated
May 26, 2004 of the Court of Appeals affirming (a) the March 31, 2003 Order of
the Special Agrarian Court ordering the respondent Land Bank of the Philippines
to deposit the just compensation provisionally determined by the PARAD; (b) the
May 26, 2003 Resolution denying respondents Motion for Reconsideration; and
(c) the May 27, 2003 Order directing Teresita V. Tengco, respondents Land
Compensation Department Manager to comply with the March 31, 2003 Order,
is REINSTATED. The Regional Trial Court of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro,
Branch 46, acting as Special Agrarian Court is ORDERED to proceed with
dispatch in the trial of Agrarian Case Nos. R-1339 and R-1340, and to compute the
final valuation of the subject properties based on the aforementioned formula.

SO ORDERED.